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48 Ways to Wisdom – #1: Study (6:6:1)

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Torah is unlike other intellectual pursuits. Torah is the word of God and it is intended to fundamentally transform a person. It is not just another academic, philosophical, or intellectual discipline, it is a way to upgrade man from beast to angel. This very special Mishnah tells us that Torah needs to be acquired, and there are 48 ways to do it. In this special episode, we outlined the concept of the acquisition of Torah and discuss Way #1: Study.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on

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Kingdom of Heaven in Exile: A Novel Rosh Hashanah Framework

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Rosh Hashanah marks the day of the creation of Adam on Day Six of Genesis. The creation of Adam facilitated the coronation of God as King. Because Adam was endowed with the choice to accept or reject God, his decision to submit himself to God and his Dominion resulted in the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Rosh Hashanah is thus the day of the creation and re-creation of man, and also the day of the coronation and the re-coronation of God. But what does coronating God in modern times – when the world has gone so far astray from God – look like? In this wonderful podcast, we explore a sharp and incisive essay written by my grandfather of blessed memory. We learn how the forces of evil have occupied the world, dethroning, as it were, God from His proper place. So long as this evil dominates the world, God’s Throne is incomplete. But not all have succumbed to the pitiful usurpers regime. There are still some people who are loyal to God and His rule. We maintain Fidelity to God’s Kingdom in Exile. We are the Resistance.

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Parshas Vayeilech (Rebroadcast)

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Moshe is 120 years old to the day. He was born on the seventh of Adar and now it is the seven of Adar 120 years later. Today is his last day before his passing and he is taking leave from the nation and handing over the reins to Joshua.

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Pushing the Envelope (6:5)

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The Torah scholar plays a significant role in the world. We believe that the reason why the Almighty created the world was for Torah study. We also believe that absent Torah study, the world would cease to exist. The Torah scholar is truly indispensable for the world’s continuity. What ought to be the Torah scholar’s attitudes towards the pursuits that the masses covet: money, power, prestige, honor, distinction? How should those pursuits play into his thinking? In this Mishnah we find the answer given by our Sages.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Nitzavim – Repent Up Demand

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How difficult is it to repent? How hard is it to examine your behavior, your choices, your values, your decisions to determine which are in need of improvement? How hard is it to reconsider your choices, to regret your mistakes, and to chart a new path forward, a path of righteousness, a path of purity, a path of holiness? Repentance demands a degree of self-sacrifice. To repent means to abandon from your previous self and to forge a new person, one free of that sinful way. In effect, to repent is to to eliminate the previous self in order to make way for the new you. Surprisingly, on Moshe’s last day of his life, he describes repentance as something which is very easy. It is not distance, it is not beyond you, is not in the heavens or across the seas; it is in your mouth and your heart to perform it. In this interesting, elegant, and very topical podcast, we reveal new frameworks of repentance that will help us move past any negative associations we may have with repentance, and make the upcoming season of repentance more powerful, more productive, and more efficacious.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of our parents Drs. David and Susanne Gelb from the Gelb, Goldman and Shacknofsky families. Wishing them and all of Klal Yisrael a Shana Tova Umetuka, a good and sweet New Year. May this learning also be in merit of Avner ben Avraham HaCohen, Shayndel bat David, Meshulam ben David, Avraham ben Menachem Mendel HaKohen, Ashraf Rachel bat Yosef Halevi, and Nissan ben Shimon. May their Neshamas have an Aliyah.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Torah and Asceticism (6:4)

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Food is delicious and we desire it from the first day that we are alive. How does our pursuit of food – and physical and material indulgences in general – impact our pursuit of our spiritual agenda and Torah? In this Mishnah we discover several approaches to understanding the interrelationship between physical indulgences and pursuit of the most eternally impactful goal: Torah.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Mar 14, 2022

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Nitzavim Vayeilech – Pro Choice (5783)

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On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathers the entire nation for a parting message. After forging another covenant between the nation and God and explicating the consequences thereof, Moshe presents the nation with a choice: “Behold I have placed before you today: life and good vs. death and bad… Choose life.” There are two options for us: life that amounts to good or death that amounts to bad. What is the nature of this binary choice? What is Moshe trying to convey to the Nation? Why are we commanded to choose life? Isn’t it obvious that any sensible person will make that choice? In the final parsha Podcast before Rosh Hashana, we explore the stark choice that Moshe placed before the Nation, a choice that truthfully faces each one of us.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by my dear friend, Dr. Paul Block, in loving memory and leilui nishmas his mother, Mrs. Mildred Block OB”M, מינדל בת רב צבי הירש, whose third yartzeit is today, כב’ אלול. May her soul be elevated in Heaven.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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The Alchemy of Repentance

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Repentance is one of God’s great gifts to humanity. The ability to move past our mistakes, to cleanse ourselves from our previous trauma, to expunge sin and any of its after effects is indeed a great gift. But this gift may come with some scary packaging. We are all a bit intimidated with the notion of change. We recoil and get defensive when anyone points out our flaws. Repentance is a great gift, but to make the most of it, we have to become adept at utilizing it. In this podcast, we show positive and pleasant angles of repentance. When you are finished with this episode, you will be motivated to make the most of this repentance season, and to once and for all ascend above your previous misconduct and embark on the path of elevation and holiness and righteousness and purity.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Honor Thy Spiritual Father and Mother (6:3)

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Torah study is the greatest of pursuits. Consequently, you are eternally indebted to anyone who bestows upon you Torah. In this fascinating Mishnah, we learned about the supreme holiness of Torah and how is forever alters the one who studies it.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 28, 2022

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Parshas Nitzavim (Rebroadcast)

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On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathered the entire nation – men, women, children, and according to the Talmud, all souls of future Jews – to pass them through a final covenant with God. The parsha also contains the prophetic predictions of the Messianic times, and it ends with a simple, binary choice: Moshe tells the nation, “Behold I have placed before you today, the life and the good, and death and evil… Choose Life!”

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Peasant to Prince (6:2)

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Studying Torah is the greatest Mitzvah. That is well-known. In this Mishnah, we learn about the perils of neglecting Torah study. Along the way we discover the polarity Jews since Sinai, we discover the secret of Jewish continuity, and we learn all about what Torah is supposed to do to us.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 21, 2022

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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